1st and Yes I would like to try this.Yup you won. Thank you for being our vanguard :D
A contoured keyboard is something I never considered, but this is v pretty. Definitely interested in seeing how this IC develops
A contoured keyboard is something I never considered, but this is v pretty. Definitely interested in seeing how this IC develops
Thank you for commenting on the aesthetics:) Today I have had loads of great conversation on ergonomics and you are the first to comment on the beauty. You made my day. Thanks.
Very nice! :thumb: I look forward to follow this project.
I'm using various split ergos, atm I've been using a cherry Corne and an lp Corne as daily drivers. For me one of the key points in using split ergos is to not have many keys, such that I do not have to move my fingers in awkward positions. E.g., a larger thumb cluster than 3 keys (as the corne) will do nothing for me since I rather use layers and use the comfortable keys, the same goes for more keys than a 3 by 6 layout. How do you view this, and how did you converge to such a large keyboard? Any ergo benefits from your experience? :)
I wonder about some of the keys being right up against each other and potentially being hard to differentiate.
II'm curious about the pricing ballpark also. The IC form references the Moonlander and Kinesis Advantage, hinting at a $350+ price point. I don't want to suggest it isn't worth that, but that also puts it in the ballpark of a handbuilt Dactyl Manuform which would offer more layout choices plus a much wider selection of switches and aftermarket keycaps. There's also the Keyboardio Model 100 in the same segment. (MX hotswap but you're locked into their custom-sculpt keycaps)It is great that there are choices in the market :) That's very healthy. I do want to point out:
Most/all of what I just listed is not wireless, but wireless is not a huuuge feature for me.There are a few benefits to wireless.
That's very interesting! I wonder how hard/easy it would be to get used to the shape and layoutGenerally speaking, if you already use an ortholinear, you pretty much would know how to use one right away.
Very nice! :thumb: I look forward to follow this project.
I'm using various split ergos, atm I've been using a cherry Corne and an lp Corne as daily drivers. For me one of the key points in using split ergos is to not have many keys, such that I do not have to move my fingers in awkward positions. E.g., a larger thumb cluster than 3 keys (as the corne) will do nothing for me since I rather use layers and use the comfortable keys, the same goes for more keys than a 3 by 6 layout. How do you view this, and how did you converge to such a large keyboard? Any ergo benefits from your experience? :)
There are a number of reasons.
Layers is ultimately a compromise. With layers you are trading the number of keystrokes (I.e. increased muscle stress and lower wpm) for better ergonomics/comfort. On most boards it is simply not possible to get 60 never mind 80 keys to be comfortably reachable, so that kind of compromise makes sense. However we tried very hard to make nearly all 80 keys accessible and I would say on the whole we succeeded. Without moving my palm much if at all, I can access 76. I can't reach the top pinky row without moving my palm but I have a very short pinky. Testers with longer fingers can. Not to boast but I doubt there is another keyboard in the market that has managed this feat - even Kinesis Advantage puts the F keys in an obviously unreachable tiny-key row.
So in this context, I would argue not having to layer for common keys is a win. Of course ZMK supports multiple layers and we do use it ourselves for the less common things (such as for numpad, host selection actions and any number of other things).
Secondly although it is cool in keeb circles to go 60/65, one of the primary goals of this keyboard is to make life better for people with RSI or a high risk of RSI. Most of these keyboard warriors just want the easiest transition path. It is already a barrier going to ortholinear. So no reason to add 60/65 to the list.
Thirdly some people go 60/65 because smaller/cute. I hope you would agree that we managed to succeed too in the aesthetics area despite having 80 keys. It is the most compact contoured keyboard key for key.
Is this a build-it-yourself kit or a fully preassembled board? I get the idea it’s preassembled.We will have both in kit form so you can choose your own switches and solder, and prebuilt for those who prefer not to.
And are the switches handwired, or have you found a way to make a PCB in the shape of those wells? I have heard of single-switch PCBs that can in turn be wired together.
Awesome, thanks. This looks really interesting, I will be tracking!Is this a build-it-yourself kit or a fully preassembled board? I get the idea it’s preassembled.We will have both in kit form so you can choose your own switches and solder, and prebuilt for those who prefer not to.
And are the switches handwired, or have you found a way to make a PCB in the shape of those wells? I have heard of single-switch PCBs that can in turn be wired together.
The pcbs are thin FR4 bent to fit. They are easy to solder as a contoured keyboard goes.
Thank you for your kind words. We will start with a GB/Crowdfund but if there is enough support the intention would be to stock them a la keyboardio.Did that now. If I have the budget, I’ll try to get in on the GB. If not, I’ll definitely try to buy it when it reaches the retail stage.
If you had not yet filled in the interest check form https://forms.gle/xjHFfoAt7AxC8K147, it would really help us to do so. Thanks
Do you have any example ZMK layouts/key assignments?One of the key features of Glove80 is having the same uniform keymap profile for every key. What this means is that you can switch legended keycaps to exactly match the modified keymap.
Color me interested, this looks awesome.
Edit: Wanted to add that if this came with an integrated wrist rest or if the additional rests locked onto the case it would be that much better. I have a bad habit of sliding wrist rests around.
The samples and the backlighting looks to be a good addition. I am not a fan of RGB but maybe some subtle backlighting for gaming purposes would be helpful. Love how unique this all is. Watching with interest.
The samples and the backlighting looks to be a good addition. I am not a fan of RGB but maybe some subtle backlighting for gaming purposes would be helpful. Love how unique this all is. Watching with interest.
Thanks! The 18 LEDs are there as indicators. We will be using them for indicating which layer is active, batteries level, and any other thing that need indicating. We decided to hide the indicators underneath the keys to create the minimalistic clean look. Many contoured ergo keyboards are functional but not something necessarily adding beauty to a desk or a room (though beauty is in the eye of the beholder :D). We would like to change that perception for contoured keyboards.
Of course if you want to do light pattern with them, do go ahead. ZMK will pretty much let you do anything if you want it to.
Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/jgs0psk.jpg)Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/o7RIxzY.jpg[)Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/p8XVpJV.jpg[)Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/1GSvwfM.jpg[)Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/eUkRZbe.jpg)
Back story:
Years ago I was at a fun software company full of incredibly talented geeks. Like most geeks, we overused our hands and nearly everyone had some sort of repetitive strain injury. Kinesis Advantage was the best ergonomic keyboard at the time and quite a few colleagues had one. Unfortunately my hands just don’t fit an Advantage; my pinky is too short. Talking to others, I found out not all hand shapes fit an Advantage. Because of this, and because we realized many ergonomic aspects could be improved, we decided to make a better contoured keyboard that works better for more people.
It started as a passion project with a few friends. The problem however is that we were all perfectionists and we couldn’t stop. Many hundreds of prototypes and A/B testing experiments later, we have finally settled on a design that works really well on a wide variety of hand shapes and hand sizes.
The ergonomics were great, but the keyboard was somewhat ugly (okay rather ugly). After all, it was a very flexible ergonomic test rig first and foremost.
So we faithfully kept the ergonomics, and made it pretty and compact. We re-designed it to be manufacturable. We managed to add a few extra tweaks too. Introducing Glove80.
Glove80 is highly customizable. It is wireless (BLE), but can also connect to a host via USB. There are no wires between the two sides. It runs the excellent open-source and highly configurable ZMK firmware.
If you are interested to know more, please sign up for the Interest Check and Survey at https://forms.gle/xjHFfoAt7AxC8K147. We would love to hear your feedback and comments.
Key features:
- 80 key split contoured keyboard
- Reinvented ergonomics - result of 500+ prototypes and ergonomic A/B testing experiments
- Compact and low profile - the most compact contoured keyboard (pro-rata for key count)
- Wireless (no more wires) and USB-C support (only if you want)
- Capable of connecting up to 3 Bluetooth LE devices and 1 USB device simultaneously
- Premium components: POM keycaps legended or blank (see https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=114541), Kailh Choc key switches, Nordic nRF52840
- Tenting and flexible mounting options
- Detachable 3D sculpted palm rest - extremely comfortable and detachable for travelling
- Open source ZMK firmware supporting full programmability
- Supports any key layout. All keys have uniform keycaps, so they can be swapped freely
- Supports MacOS, Windows, Linux, Android and iOS devices
Interest check: https://forms.gle/xjHFfoAt7AxC8K147.
Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/q2s8w2/glove80_the_end_result_of_hundreds_of_ergonomic/?sort=top
Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/cdywSRX9qF
Expected timeline:
Currently working closely with factory. GB/Crowdfund TBD.
The idea of them working as indicators is a great one, for that purpose the lights would work. Nice work, starting to really take shape.
The keycaps are injection-molded POM. The mold is being made, and we already have the POM keycap samples (which are shown in latest shots).Great, thanks.
The case and palm rest will be high quality injection-molded ABS/PC or PC.
As Glove80 is wireless (no wires between halves, and BLE or USB to host), an aluminium case is tricky without affecting the wireless performance.
1. can you show me how you did the fr4 pcb bending?
2. did you do 3d printing for the prototypes, how did you reach such large numbers, hundreds of units?
1. can you show me how you did the fr4 pcb bending?
2. did you do 3d printing for the prototypes, how did you reach such large numbers, hundreds of units?
Please have a look at https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=114887.0 (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=114887.0) and also Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) and how the "ultimate" ergonomic keyboard is created through 500+ A/B testing experiments
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rsi-how-ultimate-ergonomic-keyboard-created-stephen-cheng (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rsi-how-ultimate-ergonomic-keyboard-created-stephen-cheng)
The fr4 is a thin FR4 and this is a well known technique.
I love the amount of development going into this. I for one can not wait for the Kickstarter.
ISO-International 28-Key add-on keycap set is added to the plan to provide a good compromise for UK, DE, SE, NO, DK, IT, ES and PT layouts.Okay we ended up with a 31 keycap set that is a good match for UK, DE and Nordic.
this project seems so thoughtful! im a fan. 80 keys seems too big for my small hands but i understand the reasoningI think you would still enjoy Glove80. One of our long term testers is a Japanese woman with rather small hands. She enjoys Glove80 very much. You can read her testimonial on our website www.moergo.com
Kickstarter pledge complete.
Joined this morning!
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